NSF PRFB FY 2023: Considering evolutionary responses to temperature variability when predicting risk to climate change and disease in amphibians

该行动资助了美国国家科学基金会2023财年生物学博士后研究奖学金，研究基因组，环境和表型之间相互作用的生命规则的综合研究。该奖学金支持将以创新方式对生活规则领域作出贡献的研究员的研究和培训。这项研究将探讨气候变化和疾病的双重压力如何相互作用，影响地球上最濒危的类群之一——两栖动物。虽然气候变化和新出现的传染病各自对物种的持久性提出了严峻的挑战，但它们可以通过促进病原体生长速度、改变宿主免疫反应和降低宿主耐热性来增加脆弱性。这一领域的大多数研究都集中在温度变化如何增加疾病风险上，很少有研究检查疾病是否会影响对极端温度的易感性。然而，理解这一点至关重要，因为温度变化和极端是气候变化的标志。该项目将探索这个问题，并通过支持为代表性不足的高中学生提供两栖动物疾病生态学沉浸式暑期体验的发展，扩大生态和进化生物学领域的多样性和参与度。本研究将采用跨学科的方法来了解真菌病原体Batrachochytrium dendroatidis （Bd）如何增加两栖动物宿主物种对温度变化的脆弱性。为此，该项目将量化北方蟋蟀蛙（Acris crepitans）的患病率、环境、表型和基因型之间的关系，从而建立一个预测风险模型。具体而言，该研究将考虑在预测气候变化和疾病风险时对温度变化和极端事件的进化反应的重要性。该研究员将进行一项观察性调查，将热性状的局部变化与Bd患病率和微生境温度联系起来，进行一项实证实验，研究Bd是否以及如何改变热生理，以及一项将表型与群体水平遗传变异联系起来的定量遗传学实验，以预测热性状的适应潜力。该项目最终将建立一个预测风险模型，该模型将Bd感染动态、宿主人口统计、热性能和进化联系起来，以了解未来气候变化情景下种群水平对不断变化的野生动物疾病动态的适应能力。该项目将包括对研究员进行野生动物疾病生态学和疾病建模方面的培训，并通过培训和外展提供实践包容性教学法的机会。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology for FY 2023, Integrative Research Investigating the Rules of Life Governing Interactions Between Genomes, Environment, and Phenotypes. The fellowship supports research and training of the fellow that will contribute to the area of Rules of Life in innovative ways. This research will address how the dual pressures of climate change and disease interact to affect one of the most endangered taxa on the planet, amphibians. While independently, climate change and emerging infectious diseases present daunting challenges to species persistence, together they can increase vulnerability by promoting pathogen growth rates, altering host immune response, and reducing host thermal tolerance. Most research in this area has focused on how temperature variability can increase the risk of disease, with few studies examining if the disease affects vulnerability to temperature extremes. Yet, understanding this is crucial, given that temperature variability and extremes are a trademark of climate change. This project will explore this question, as well as broaden diversity and increase participation in the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology field by supporting the development of an immersive summer experience for underrepresented high school students in amphibian disease ecology.This research will take an interdisciplinary approach to understand how the fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) increases vulnerability to temperature variability in an amphibian host species. To do so, this project will quantify the relationship between disease prevalence, environment, phenotype, and genotype in the northern cricket frog (Acris crepitans), resulting in a predictive risk model. Specifically, the research will consider the importance of evolutionary responses to temperature variability and extreme events when predicting the risk to climate change and disease. The fellow will conduct an observational survey correlating local variation in thermal traits to Bd prevalence and microhabitat temperatures, an empirical experiment investigating if and how Bd alters thermal physiology, and a quantitative genetics experiment relating phenotypes to population-level genetic variance to predict the adaptive potential of thermal traits. This project will culminate in a predictive risk model that links Bd infection dynamics, host demography, thermal performance, and evolution to understand population-level resilience to changing wildlife disease dynamics under future climate change scenarios. This project will involve training the fellow in wildlife disease ecology and disease modeling, as well as providing opportunities to practice inclusive pedagogy through training and outreach.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.